


The Dogfather

by bramblePatch



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Archived From Tumblr, Archived from Bramblepatch Blog, Magical Theory, Meta Essays, Nonfiction, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 18:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16837606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bramblePatch/pseuds/bramblePatch
Summary: A look at why Sirius would never have gotten custody anyway. Originally posted to my Tumblr May 2017.





	The Dogfather

Realtalk though, even if Sirius hadn’t taken the fall for the Potters’ deaths, I doubt he would have been given the opportunity to raise Harry. To suggest that he would have requires that we ignore that:

  * Albus Dumbledore was essentially a law unto himself within the wizarding world at the time - for all that he tried to avoid appearing, even to himself, to be seeking power, Dumbledore was one of the most significant political figures in Wizarding Britain and, indeed, Wizarding Europe at the time. In addition to controlling the education of the vast majority of wizards and witches in the British Isles for nearly half a century, he also holds leadership positions in both the Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards for Harry’s entire childhood. It took turning the Minister for Magic against him to even start to erode his power base, and even then, there was a significant minority both within the Ministry and in the general populace that remained loyal to Albus Dumbledore over Fudge and his administration. Although it’s most explicitly tied to Slytherin ideals of ambition, there’s an almost feudal factionalism that’s present throughout wizarding British society, and no one seems to have questioned Dumbledore’s right to sponsor an organization like the Order of the Phoenix until he fell thoroughly out of favor with the Ministry. In the aftermath of Voldemort’s first fall, it probably would have been political and social suicide for anyone to question Albus Dumbledore’s right to make choices as to the upbringing of the orphaned child of two of his proteges.


  * Petunia’s status as Harry’s closest blood relative was magically significant, but probably not legally significant - if Dumbledore hadn’t unilaterally decided who got to raise Harry, can you really see any British Wizarding authority favoring the muggle relatives of a wizarding child born into a wizarding family in a custody case? Especially muggle relatives that didn’t want the kid in the first place? Harry was sent to the Dursleys entirely because of the protective blood magic that Lily worked with her death, and Dumbledore clearly overrode whatever the usual process of finding a guardian would have been in order to ensure Harry got that protection. This wasn’t a compromise or a backup plan for if another guardian wasn’t available. If Dumbledore had wished Harry to be raised within the wizarding world, he would have had no trouble finding a guardian that suited his needs. James was a pureblood; Harry is probably related within a few generations to a third of wizarding Britain. For that matter, if he hadn’t had reason to give Harry to someone else, it would have been very much Dumbledore’s style to decide to raise him himself.


  * Dumbledore doesn’t actually seem to like Sirius - he never goes so far as to badmouth the man to Harry, probably because shittalking Sirius would run contrary to his carefully cultivated image of being Wise and Fair and Above Such Pettiness. But Dumbledore seems to be frequently irritated with Sirius and clearly has little concern for his physical or emotional wellbeing, even when they’re nominally allies. Dumbledore couldn’t be bothered to find Sirius accommodations less actively traumatic than Grimmauld Place when Sirius was almost entirely dependent on Dumbledore and the rest of the Order. Would he have honored Sirius’s claim as Harry’s godfather, without really significant outside pressure? Would Sirius have been able to get backup from anyone Dumbledore would actually have listened to? Who’s going to win that battle - a probably-unemployed 21-year-old who has explosively burned bridges with his wealthy and influential family, or the man who is essentially the uncrowned king of magical Britain?



I propose instead: Sirius fails to get custody of Harry, who is sent off to his aunt and uncle as per canon. Sirius then proceeds to do an end-run around Dumbledore, instead focusing his not-inconsiderable charisma on getting into Arabella Figg’s good graces and, from there, insinuating himself into the Dursleys’ social circles. Probably this involves some intensive cramming to catch up on years of muggle studies he may or may not have actually taken but almost certainly didn’t pay attention to at Hogwarts. Depending on how much attention Petunia paid to Lily’s social life, Sirius may need to avoid her and interact only with Vernon; I have little doubt Sirius could pull this off, nor do I think Vernon would necessarily find this suspicious.

Harry grows up with occasional but reliable contact with an adult who tells him he’s neither crazy nor at fault when he starts having magical outbursts, takes an interest in his life, and also sometimes turns into a fluffy doggy when none of the other grown-ups are looking.

Vernon Dursley is utterly outraged when Mr. Black, who up to ‘till now has always seemed perfectly respectable and urbane, intercepts the third owl that tries to bring Harry his acceptance letter and hand delivers it to the kid, who is not actually surprised because Sirius has been teaching him about wizarding culture on the sly since he was like seven.


End file.
